I've always been a Shimano guy - like most of us here, I think - and never even thought about owning Daiwa gear till now. Heard some good things 'bout Certate spinning reel recently... I know, I'm not so up-to-date as I'd like. Well, what's your experience like with a Certate reel, and how does it compare to, say, a Stradic CI4 reel?  Appreciate your input in advance!

 

 

I liked it well enough to sell my Exist that cost almost 2x as much. It's a spinning reel, so there's only so much performance you can squeeze out of it, but it's as good as I've ever used. It's effortlessly smooth, but still feels stable and powerful. I wouldn't say it blows the Stradic FL (don't have a CI4+) out of the water, but all the little refinements are definitely noticeable. I think the biggest surprise for me was just how powerful it feels.

^What he said. I fish a lake that has a weedline that circles the entire lake and casting it past the weedline and hooking a fish, the fish will almost always dive through the weeds. My Certate does not struggle under load at all. Smooth and effortless. The Luvias I have as well is smooth and powerful as well, although not glass smooth like my Certate.

I'm using a Certate LT 3000-CXH on a Megabass Addermine and a Certate LT 4000-CXH on a Kistler Z Bone 3. They are excellent reels, super smooth and very well sealed.

I’m a shimano guy myself but learned early on that the certates are  absolutely the best spinning reels you can buy excluding the shimano Stella for about twice the price. I like them do much I have six of them. They last forever & never need servicing because of the magnetic oil & sealed systems based on my experience. Smooth as butter & solid as a rock. 

1 minute ago, Dwight Hottle said:

I’m a shimano guy myself but learned early on that the certates are  absolutely the best spinning reels you can buy excluding the shimano Stella for about twice the price. I like them do much I have six of them. They last forever & never need servicing because of the magnetic oil & sealed systems based on my experience. Smooth as butter & solid as a rock. 

Which model do you have, and have you had a chance to A/B with, say, Vanquish?

I have a Certate LT, Luvias LT, two Exist 3012H, a Ci4+, among many other reels.  The Certate is a truly work of art.  You won't be disappointed.  They are awesome reels and I would buy another.

Do you have 2500 or 3000C model? 

2 hours ago, Eddie101 said:

Which model do you have, and have you had a chance to A/B with, say, Vanquish?

I have a HD4000SH, 1503, 2500, 2000, 2510PE-H, CT2500. My previous experience with spinning reels were with three different stradic models, Daiwa SS etc. I have fished two different Stella models & prefer the certates for quality versus price.